My Horrible Life
My Horrible Life ---- Date: 23 July, Age 698 ---- My life in one word: dreadful. For as long as I can possibly remember, my dad has locked me in this prison he calls a palace. He's never once allowed me to venture out into the outside world. His reason for keeping me trapped here is "because I'm too important for the commoner to look upon me." I loathe him. I wish my mother was still alive. I learned about her death, not from my father, but from my attendant, Roselee. She told me that she died immediately after I was born, but she said that my mother loved me with all her heart, no matter how little time we shared. In fact, she told me that my name means "beautiful life" in our native language. From just that single gesture, I know that she loved me; at least, more than this terrible man I call a father. A voice from behind my locked door ripped me from my thoughts. "Would you like some afternoon tea, my princess?" said the voice. It was Roselee. Her's was a voice I had come to recognize without seeing her; of course, we had lived in the same castle for almost seventeen years. "No, thank you. I'd like to be alone today," I lied. I loved tea, most of all the tea Roselee would serve me everyday at the stroke of four o' clock, in which she would sit down with me and tell me stories about the heroes of legend. However, today was different. Today, I needed to be alone with my thoughts. And that I did. For the rest of the day, my room was not disturbed. Part of me was relieved, while the other was screaming for company. I dreaded being alone, but it was necessary for me to organize my thoughts. For several weeks now, I have contemplated escaping from the palace and venturing out into my kingdom. I mean, why not? It was my kingdom, after all. I had every right to meet n' greet with my subjects as my father, who, I will say, has not left the palace in the last year or so. So, while I sat on my bed with nothing but the oxygen in which I breathe to keep me company, I devised a plan to sneak out and meet the people I was destined to rule. If I do say so myself, the plan was absolutely genius! Despite the ingeniousness of it all, I would need a decoy for this plan to work. That was where Roselee came in. Roselee was, in all honesty, the only person in the world that I had the capacity to trust. She was not only my attendant, but my confidant and best friend as well. I could ask her fetch me something for me and she'd do so in a heartbeat; if I asked her to keep a secret, she would; if I asked her to be my decoy so I could escape this hellhole, she would. For that, she was the perfect candidate for such a job. I had made up my mind; tomorrow would be the day I enact my plan. Till then, I needed sleep. Without my beauty sleep, I would be in no shape to pull off such an ingenious plan... ---- Date: 24 July, Age 698 It was 11 AM; late morning. As I finished my splendid brunch that the palace chef had prepared (I swear, the man could cook feces and it'd be delicious), I asked Roselee to escort me to my bedroom, an unusual request for me. Despite the oddness of the request, the attendant nonetheless escorted me to my room. Upon entering, I shut the door behind me and locked it, making sure the woman before her couldn't leave without listening to her plea. "What is the meaning of this, Rauleli?" she asked, hearing the loud click from the door locking. I looked Roselee over, making sure she was relaxed; if she wasn't calm, the whole plan would go up in flames. "Sorry, Roselee, but I couldn't let you leave without hearing me out." I waited. She crossed her arms, signalling me to continue. "I'm sure you've noticed that I've been acting strange these past few days, and you deserve to no why. You see, I'm tired of being cooped up in this castle. Because of this, I've decided to sneak out. This is the part that involves you." Roselee arched her brow, puzzled at what I was alluding to. "Go on," she mumbled, the sound barely audible to an untrained ear. "Thank you. Anyways, I need you to be my doppelganger while I'm gone. We're both similar, appearance-wise. Who else but my, basically, twin to be my decoy?" "So, you want me to stay here and pretend to be you while you go out and have fun?" she asked, rhetorically. After a brief moment, she continued. "What's in it for me?" I was baffled. Since when did Roselee ask for anything in return? Brushing the thought away, I quickly came up with a way to repay her. "Hmm... How about you don't have to do anything for me for the next two weeks?" I spat out, the only thing I could come up with on such a short notice. Roselee looked toward the ground; she was contemplating such an offer. In no time at all, my loyal confidant looked up and exclaimed, "Deal!" "Perfect! We'll have to get you ready immediately. Come with me to my wardrobe so we can make you a Rauleli look-alike." The look on Roselee's face was priceless, as anyone that knew the woman knew she hated the thought of wearing a dress, let alone make-up. We then set to work making the attendant look just like beautiful me, a challenge I gladly accepted. ---- "I look stupid," Roselee pouted as she looked in the mirror. I had made her into the perfect replica of me, which the woman did not seem to like. In fact, she looked like she would rather rip off the dress she was wearing and run naked through the courtyard. I giggled a bit at the thought, but I was quickly stopped by a piercing glare from Roselee. "Heh, sorry that you have to go to all this trouble just so I can enjoy a little freedom," I said, hoping it'd lighten Roselee's mood about the whole sha-bang. And, if by magic, the woman's scowl disappeared altogether, allowing me to take a sigh of relief. After a few minutes of silence, Roselee was the first to speak. "Okay, you better get going. It's almost one o' clock, so you'll only have a few hours before you'll have to be back for dinner. Now go!" she whispered, gesturing me to the window. I had already tied several sheets together the day before, making sure I wasted no time today. As I gave the makeshift rope a tug (I didn't want to fall and break my neck!), I looked to Roselee, who was smiling at me. That smile made me even more excited to venture out into the world. I waved goodbye to my best friend and, with that, I climbed down the rope, excited about what I'd come to find in the next few hours. Next Chapter The Tuffle Kingdom Category:Articles by Koukishi Category:Fan Fiction